


Musings of a Dying Beanstar

by ScienceMachine



Series: almost nobody dances sober (unless they happen to be insane) [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Atem cannot do technology, Friendship, Games are the exception, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Lovecraftian Shenanigans, Outing, Post-Ceremonial Duel, Precious Mutou Yuugi, Pretty sure Atem & Yuugi are the terrifying combo, References to Sonic the Hedgehog, Yami Yuugi | Atem Has His Own Body, that used Hyper!Sonic before any of us mere mortals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:42:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25716751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScienceMachine/pseuds/ScienceMachine
Summary: Sonic shenanigans, weird light shows and stupid dares are part of the King of Games and Co's lives. Sometimes things got kinda hard but they were used to all sort of challenges, it was a part of them and they wouldn't change it for anything.(Because they were glad to have Atem back, no matter his quirks)...Just some everyday kids and their local resurrected horror movie trope on a game-date.
Relationships: Atem & Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler & Mutou Yuugi, Atem & Kaiba Seto, Honda Hiroto & Jounouchi Katsuya & Mazaki Anzu & Mutou Yuugi, Kaiba Mokuba & Kaiba Seto
Series: almost nobody dances sober (unless they happen to be insane) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1865278
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	Musings of a Dying Beanstar

**Author's Note:**

> _I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat_   
>  _-Edgar Allan Poe_

Sometimes, Atem wondered if his friends have ever questioned what he is, or the origin of his sinister nature. How his long-dead heart beated faster when he smelled human corruption in the air, how the shadows always responded to him without the aid of a Sennen Item, or how far Zorc had to go so he could defeat a supposedly mortal Pharaoh. Even dear aibou, who can sense those feelings and the rumbling of their stomachs, chose to ignore their shared hunger as some kind of leftover trauma.

Kaiba was the only one who seemed to not ignore it and confronted him head on. The shaking of his arms and nervous sweat on his brow notwithstanding as the brunette drawed card after card in increasingly more desperate motions. His mind was on the game, as was his will and very soul.

The CEO’s need to overcome all obstacles has always been both his blessing and curse since ancient times.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon manifested on the field with feminine-like graceness, horribly human when played by what once was her treasured priest. Atem’s dark magicians intercepted her attack with a wink, in Mana’s case, and a frown of effort in Maahad’s.

The resulting light was blinding.

The Duel ended and Atem was proclaimed the victor. Kaiba accepted his defeat with pride, and some well disguised relief, and abandoned the arena. After all, staring into the Pharaoh’s mad red eyes was an herculean effort into not succumbing to hysteria.

Their friends received them with open affection, Mokuba the loudest out of them. The CEO simply snorted and signaled his little brother to follow him. The child waved at them on the way to the exit.

Jounouchi frowned, “Can Kaiba evah get de stick outta his ass?”

Honda laughed at him and called him mutt, and the fight was on.

“How have you been holding up, Atem-kun?” Said Anzu, a cute little smile on her face.

“Quite splendid, Anzu. Thank the Gods”

Yuugi butted in, a mischievous glint in his purple eyes, “Other me still cannot figure out how to use the microwave”

Atem crossed his arms and did his regal version of a pout, “That cursed machine is my demise in kitchen appliance form, aibou”

They laughed.

“It’s good to have you with us, in your own body” Said Anzu, hugging both of her small boys.

“Likewise” “Me too!” Replied the Pharaoh and the King of Games at the same time.

“Oi, don’t exclude us from the group hug guys” Said Honda as he joined them “I deserve it after getting the rabies from bad boy here” He snorted while pointing to Jounouchi.

“ _I’ll teach ya rabies, dumbass!_ ”

Yuugi spared Anzu and Atem from another idiotic fight by saying, “Hey, cut that out you two”

“Sorry, man” Whispered Jounouchi, he elbowed Honda to get him to apologize too.

“Yeah, sorry”

Atem raised an eyebrow at their antics, promptly calling his shadows to swat them in their heads, all the while ignoring Yuugi’s groan. He had grown comfortable over time to use his powers for mundane things, said uses being reserved for his own amusement to the surprise of absolutely no one.

Anzu still high fived him, perhaps thankful to not be the only one with some semblance of common sense on the group. Or maybe relieved to no longer be the one tasked with reinforcing it via bodily punishment?

With an internal sigh, Yuugi came to the conclusion that the second was the most likely.

The dumb duo made offended noises and began to chase the Pharaoh around the duel ring, Atem taking advantage of his small frame and agility to slip in between narrow corners and corridors on the way to the exit. Taunting them all the while.

Yeah, that is the little shit Yuugi loves and adores, everyone.

Once all foolishness is over with— Jonouchi and Honda were grumbling to themselves payback plans for Atem, not that Yuugi nor Anzu heard any of them and laughed themselves silly— they went to the arcade. The sun was high on the sky and the wind was soft and cold, it was the perfect sunday. Yuugi felt happy and comfortable in the company of his friends, and always cherished these quiet moments of tranquility. They had come so far from the people they used to be, it was hard to believe how much they had changed in the last two years.

“So, Atem” Honda-kun’s voice interrupted his musings “Are you really on board with that political thing?”

“Of course, Honda. It is my desire to help my country.” Atem replied. He looked to the ground and clenched a fist. “ I will not abandon my people again”

Anzu hummed. “Being ambassador is going to be hard and politics have changed a lot since you were… _there_ ” She finished awkwardly.

The Pharaoh nodded, ignoring the unintentional nod at his resurrected status. “I know, it is the reason why I should do my utmost best”

And when Atem said things in that _tone_ , you knew it was only a matter of time before they become truth.

They soon arrived to the neon brightness of the arcade with Jounouchi running ahead, ready for some action. The rest followed after the blond at a more leisurely pace, trying to hide their mirth.

Yuugi and Anzu soon collected the group’s money, the only ones responsible enough with it, and went to get coins. No one commented on the fact that they didn’t ask Jounouchi for his share, like they didn’t when Ryou gave him his extra lunch or when Kaiba, grumbling to himself, gave him some bills and left dramatically.

Because peace meant less Duel Monsters competitions.

The group soon dispersed, going for specific games. Yuugi took Honda and Jonouchi to a new Donkey Kong machine that looked promising, and Anzu dragged a reluctant Atem to a dancing platform.

“Come on, it is real fun once you get the hang of it!” She encouraged, the Pharaoh looked at her in disbelief.

“I am not particularly coordinated, Anzu”

Now it was Anzu’s turn to look at him in disbelief. Then she frowned, “If you can climb freaking temples barehanded, you can dance”

She began with an easy level, flowing form one motion to another gracefully. Beside her, Atem was making his best impression of a robot. They soon attracted a crowd, and with it their friends, who made a big racked because they were huge bastards in Atem’s humble opinion.

“May I be excused from existence” Whispered the Pharaoh once they finished the game, embarrassed. That didn’t stop him from almost getting the same record as Anzu though.

She still took pity on the small teen, it wasn’t like the record stopped Jounouchi and Honda from poking fun at him or Yuugi from picking him up and doing a spin, and gave Atem the rest of the money, telling him to go and get more coins.

“Guys, look!” Blurted out Yuugi, pointing to a Duel Monsters claw crane. The plushies were utterly adorable with a Kuriboh and a Happy Lover on top. The waiting line was ridiculously long but it wasn’t like it was going to deter eather Yuugi nor Anzu from somehow skipping to the frontline.

Left in their friends’ dust, the boys shrugged to each other and migrated to a beaten up Sonic & Knuckles machine, a favourite among the group even after Yuugi somehow got a computer and with it the complete version of the game.

Honda and Jounouchi flipped a coin to choose who was going to be Sonic first.

“I call Tails!” Said Honda before the coin landed.

“Aw, man. Dat’s cheating”

“Suck it up, crybaby”

Jounouchi barely contained himself from throttling the idiot.

Putting some coins on the old piece of junk, the game was on.

It didn’t take much time before Yuugi and Anzu returned with the fruits of their efforts and left to get some drinks, telling them to watch over their things. The boys were too immersed on the game to notice.

Sonic did a somersault and then continued to run across the desert landscape, Jonouchi counting the points so he could beat his friend’s record. As the pyramid began to ascend and the Guardian appeared, Honda frowned in concentration and waited for the moment the stone monster would jump over Sonic and to its quicksand doom. After beating the boss, the score appeared on the screen and the brown eyed teen finally relaxed. He high-fived Jounouchi, proud of his overall record.

He directed Sonic to the entrance of the ruins and was struck by a weird thought. “Hey, wouldn’t all these pyramid levels be creepy to Atem? I mean, it’s like putting cemeteries in a kid’s game” Honda narrowed his eyes, “And the ghosts on Act 2 don’t help matters at all”

Jounouchi raised an eyebrow, interested. “Now dat ya mention it...”

They gave each other considering looks, and decided to ask the Pharaoh later.

Sonic pushed a switch block and jumped over it, but Honda had miscalculated and the hedgehog crashed against the spikes protruding from the stone wall. It was the second time he had died and the teen only had one more chance at raising up his, rather awful, record before Jounouchi’s turn.

And Honda was surviving by the skin of his teeth. He needed help, Asap.

Thankfully his prayers were answered.

“Excuse me for the lateness, I had a disagreement with the vendor over the price” The red eyed teen briefly glanced at his struggling friend’s progress. “Honda, you may want to activate that light switch, the Hyudoros are about to capture you”

Atem took the coins and the bags left behind by their other friends, without taking his eyes off the screen, and brought them nearer. He stood on his tiptoes to see over Honda’s shoulder.

”Good. Now head left and hop onto the platform. Halt your movements, wait for the scorpion to finish its attack. Perfect! Leap once more and collect the four rings nearby. All right! Onwards to the Star Post, Honda! Hopefully the Bonus Stage will increase your score”

Honda, much to his chagrin, died almost immediately after concluding the bonus. It was not a complete loss, thankfully his total score was enough to kept Jounouchi on his toes.

As the blond began to slowly but surely wipe the floor with his score— at least it was more challenging than usual so Honda couldn’t exactly complain about it— he smiled at the smaller teen. “Thanks for the catch, Atem. I was losing pretty badly there”

The room’s temperature lowered several degrees, the neon lights flickered on and off, the air became thick and foggy. Jounouchi shivered slightly, eyes never leaving the game.

Atem’s shadow stretched and narrowed its glowing eyes in glee.

It was like it was _preening_.

( _like a_ ~~_monster_ ~~ _predator and he was prey, prey, prey, prey, prey_

**_He was prey_** )

Honda swallowed and forced the smile on his face wider. He brought a cold and sweaty arm and patted ~~the thing’s~~ _Atem’s_ head.

The Pharaoh smiled and the revolting atmosphere lightened.

Honda didn’t know how much time passed before he got his heartbeat under control but Jou had beaten three more levels and Anzu had come back with drinks to drag them off to lunch. Yuugi sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and quietly asked for a burger.

The brunette didn’t pay attention to the group’s chitchat, the experience too raw and similar to very bad memories to simply shake off. He felt kinda guilty for his reaction to a natural facet of his bro — despite the fact the petite teen had mentioned his egyptian friends never quite got used to it either, and Atem was one of the most kind hearted and understanding dudes around.

The group got their lunches on the commercial district, the place tranquil and silent, some paserbyes here and there. It was near a beautiful park, a perfect place to sit and relax with food and good friends.

Honda, who had been strangely silent up till that moment, apologized and told them he needed to go home. They said their goodbyes to him, somewhat stunned by his change of attitude.

Anzu decided for them to question Honda-kun later at their astonished looks, her lips pulling into a grimace. She may have an idea what his problem was about.

She had experience with s _hadows_ , and with people used to them.

Jounouchi dragged them to the rock tables under the shade of Sakura trees, at the center of the park. A gentle breeze caressed their faces and the sweet smell of nature increased.

It was peaceful and pretty, and it was ruined by the sound of a stomach rumbling.

“Atem, ma bestie, didcha bring de food?” Asked Jounouchi. Man, he was _starving_.

“Oh, yes” The dark skinned boy made the weird pocket dimension invocation thing,

(it felt wrong, unnatural and ominous. awful vibrations pierced through the air in a morbid parade of sound and invaded their ear ducts, vertigo and nausea and _wrongness_ crawled from their stomachs like acid and digged their claws inside their pharynxes— and Yuugi barely _flinched_.

the same could not be said of Jou and Anzu, who had broken on a cold sweat, ice on their blood.

_they were_ **_prey_** ).

As soon as it began, it was over.

“It is quite a simple dish, to be fair, but I found that it is extremely nutritious and fulfilling, which are your requirements”

Atem gave a proud smile, bright like the sun. Jou simply couldn’t resist giving him a noogie (he also wanted to leave _that sensation_ behind), the smaller teen desperately squirming out of his hold.

Jounouchi took the lunchbox and his mouth immediately watered “Thanks bro, ya always make de most tasty food”

Atem beamed, trying to get his hair into some semblance of order.

Anzu unfroze and shrugged off the sensation too. She stretched and stared at some crows digging around a trash can.

“Hey, Jounouchi-kun?” Said Yuugi.

“Ujum” Anzu and Atem made disgusted faces at the exaggerated munching noises.

Yuugi, too, looked vaguely green. “Eh… I saw you playing Sonic & Knuckles with Honda-kun...”

Jonouchi nodded, they quickly dodged the flying pieces of food, and swallowed visibly.

“Bakura-kun and I thought about having a movie night today, and I have the complete Sonic game, and well, it’s been a while since you were home” If by _while_ you meant two days.

(They were really worried about the Jounouchi-san situation.

The man had gone back to gambling, and he invited strange people to Jounouchi-kun’s apartment)

The blond didn’t comment on the obvious lie. “Only if ya teach me how ta get Hypah Sonic”

Jounouchi flicked his nose in his signature move, and paled. “Aw, crap! Gotta get da school books and ma deck.” He almost choked on his lunch in his haste. “See ya at home Yuugi”

A vaguely Jounouchi-shaped cloud was left behind.

Now, the only ones left were Anzu, Yuugi and Atem. They silently finished their food and shared placid conversation, not staying on any topic in particular. The natural and fresh aura of the park was peaceful, the breeze grazed the Sakura trees. The pretty flowers slowly descended to the fertile soil, pink and green intermingled around the dirt path leading to the tables they were sitting at.

It was really quiet without their rambunctious boys.

Anzu and Yuugi picked up the trash and disposed of it, whilst Atem put in order the stuff they had won on the arcade inside their school bags. Warm oranges and yellows painted the sky as the sun began to set and, once they had finished, they spent some time resting against the grass and watching the clouds.

_It was peaceful._

(They continued to spend their time in a pleasant atmosphere and soon it was dark, so they decided it was time to go home. The boys accompanied Anzu up to a few blocks from her house for her safety, like the little gentlemen they were).

_Then it was not._

“Be safe, guys!” Anzu waved enthusiastically as she headed home. It was going well until a queasiness on her belly and a familiar sputter on her heart made her freeze. She faced them wide eyed, cold dread coursing through her veins.

(she was prey)

The street lights flickered in a similar manner to what happened on the arcade, creating hideous, _eyeless_ , figures that were _watching her_. Whispers from places unknown chanted discordant tunes and Anzu almost gripped her ears to _shut them up_ but she was stuck, still as ice.

She detachedly observed as Atem’s shadow extended to envelop Yuugi’s. Anzu swallowed her dread, and suffocating guilt because _it was her friend dammit!_ , and tried to move her body.

It lasted less than a minute and Anzu hoped they hadn’t noticed her reaction as she faced the oposite road and started to walk anew.

Turning around a corner, she sprinted home.

Anzu was _near_ , she just had to put up with a little more of that _presence_. A little more and she would get used to one of her best friends.

(no matter how much ~~the monster~~ he made her feel like _prey_ )

Anzu **_never_ ** would give any of her friends up.

It was a promise to both herself and Atem.

Yuugi and Atem arrived home a little after curfew— Mom was not home, thankfully— and had a great time teaching Jounouchi how to get Hyper Sonic and watching, or ripping apart in Atem’s case, The Mummy and other horror classics with Bakura.

There wasn’t any mention of the strange stuff that surrounded Atem the next day at school.

Yuugi knew about his friends’ obvious apprehension of Atem’s more _quirky_ traits, and he needed to afront _that_ all right, but those often got downplayed thanks to situations like what happened at lunch.

How his other self evaded security and smuggled his way into school was a mystery Yuugi _didn’t_ want to solve.

(His friends were conveniently absent, the traitors— Yuugi swore he heard Jounouchi laughing himself silly)

“Aibou, would you be so kind as to remind me why have I decided to subject myself to this type of self-torture?” Atem pointed at the raw-egg concoction he had brought along for the ride and was about to chug down.

Both made faces when it jingled inside the tankard.

_How the fuck did Atem get any of this inside school grounds?_

“Pride, and your inability to back up,” Yuugi side eyed him,” like when you ate two tablespoons of cinnamon to, and I quote, ‘assert your dominance’ over my ex-bullies”.

The Pharaoh, of course, choose to ignore the jab and made a noncommittal hum. He took the monstrosity in one hand and nodded, probably coming to a very silly decision.

“And I shall keep on performing creative punishments on those bastards who dared to hurt you”

Yuugi internally thought he was being a total idiot but decided to save the headache of explaining why his other’s protectiveness was completely unnecessary and kinda insulting. And how it ended up working _anyway_.

You know what? Screw it.

“Other me, the only thing they get from your attempts at intimidation is that you are deadass insane” He pinched Atem’s arm, getting a satisfactory _ouch_ in response “They’re convinced you will murder them in cold blood if they try to hurt me” Yuugi connected his totally unimpressed gaze with the Pharaoh’s unapologetic one, “Which, by the way, is a rude move on your part. I’m not completely helpless, Other me”

His prince’s smile faded a bit, and he crossed his arms.

The King of Games knew his other self had seen him flourish into who he was now, and it was a bit unfair to tell the egyptian that he was no longer the same weak person who solved the puzzle. Still, Atem needed to understand how his actions were perceived.

After an awkward silence, a rare occurrence between people who used to share a body— Yuugi choose to ignore a random ' _lover’s spat'_ comment from one of his classmates because _reasons_ — Yuugi sighed and gave his other a hug.

The Pharaoh perked up— ignoring the comment too, thankfully— and asked “They think I will murder them?”

“Yes” 

“Oh, perfectly executed then”

“ _What?_ ” Atem ran away, giggling “Atem, come here and explain yourself. _**Atem**!_”

For as creepy and otherwise otherworldly his other was, Atem was also a ditzy, mischievous, and overall cute sillybean.

**Author's Note:**

> Before making the Fusion Dance with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in 1997, Sonic & Knuckles was its own separate game. Idk if there ever was an arcade machine version of the original Sonic & Knuckles on 90's Japan but let's imagine that it existed and that Domino is a small town where the arcades are like 2 or more years behind. They were on the Sandopolis Zone fyi.
> 
> The movie they watched was not the 1999 one, it was the 1932 (let's just say Bakura really likes obscure horror movies). And it, too, was a complete disaster. It's still kinda a cute one to watch with friends, up there with Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!
> 
> I cannot, for the life of me, figure out Jounouchi's accent.
> 
> The title has a load of references that will be explained on the second part of the series called "Because I could not stop for Death"
> 
> Thank you for reading.


End file.
